Sunday, March 22, 2009

Con 4 Day of Recollection

Today some of us helped out at the OLPS con 4 day of Recollection. Audrey gave her testimony, and Sury gave a talk on the Holy Spirit and his confirmation journey.

As for me, besides playing guitar, I was snoozing half the time. It's time we got some amps! haha.
Enjoy the pics!








Sunday, March 15, 2009

Seven Deadly SINS of men & women.

Copied from "BREAKING NEWS" of the Straits Times for your easy perusal.
Feb 20, 2009
Lustful men, proud women.....

VATICAN CITY: Lust leads men to sin. For women, pride is their biggest downfall. This, according to a new Vatican report, is how the sexes struggle differently with the seven deadly sins of pride, envy, gluttony, lust, anger, greed and sloth.

The report was based on a study of confessions carried out by a 96-year-old Jesuit scholar, British media reported.

Pope Benedict XVI's personal theologian has backed the report. Monsignor Wojciech Giertych said there was 'no sexual equality' when it came to sin.

'Men and women sin in different ways,' he wrote in L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper.

Pride ranks only at No. 5 for men, who are likely to have indulged in so much lust and gluttony that they are too slothful to feel angry, proud, envious or avaricious, the Times of London said.
Women are not averse to lust, but are primarily occupied with pride, envy and anger. Sloth does not set in until after gluttony and avarice, the British newspaper added.

'When you look at vices from the point of view of the difficulties they create, you find that men experiment in a different way from women,' Monsignor Giertych said.

His own observations had confirmed the survey, an analysis of confessional data carried out by Father Roberto Busa, 96, a Jesuit priest celebrated for his computerised study of the works of St Thomas Aquinas.

He said: 'Diverse cultural contexts generate diverse habits - but human nature remains the same.'

Monsignor Giertych said that human weaknesses could 'purify faith' provided that they were 'admitted and offered up to God'.

The Roman Catholic Church teaches that the seven deadly sins, which carry the threat of eternal damnation, can only be forgiven by confession and penance, the Daily Mail said.

However, 30 per cent of Catholics no longer considered confession to a priest necessary, and 10 per cent even said that it 'impeded their personal dialogue with God', the Times report said.
Many believers accept the broad seven deadly sins or 'capital vices' laid down in the 6th century by Pope Gregory the Great and popularised in the Middle Ages by Aquinas, and by Dante in The Inferno. These are:

Lust: Excessive thoughts or desires of a sexual nature.
Gluttony: Over-consumption of or overly indulging in anything to the point of waste.
Sloth: The failure to utilise one's talents and gifts.
Anger: Inordinate and uncontrolled feelings that can manifest as vehement denial of the truth or self-denial, or generally wishing to do evil or harm to others.
Pride: The desire to be more important or attractive than others, failing to compliment others and excessive love of self.
Envy: Resentment of another person for having something one lacks, and wishing the other person to be deprived of it.
Greed: Excessive acquisition of material goods.

Last year, the Vatican added seven new ones: genetic modification; human experimentation; polluting the environment; social injustice; causing poverty; 'financial gluttony'; and taking or selling drugs.

Bishop Gianfranco Girotti, head of the Apostolic Penitentiary, the Vatican body that oversees confessions, said that two mortal sins which continued to preoccupy the Vatican were abortion and paedophilia.

The latter had even infected the clergy itself, and so had exposed the 'human and institutional fragility of the Church'.

Pope Benedict, who reportedly confesses his sins once a week, last year issued his own voice of disquiet on the subject.

'We are losing the notion of sin,' he said. 'If people do not confess regularly, they risk slowing their spiritual rhythm.'

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

LENT = Leave Every Negative Thing

As you begin this Holy Season, may you discover the true meaning of LENT, by Leaving behind all Negative things of the past and strive for a Future filled with Hope! (Phi 3: 7 – 14).

A Different Approach to Fasting...

Fasts have a tendency to be oriented toward things like giving up food or television. But there are many other creative ways we can welcome Jesus' healing touch.Here are suggestions you may want to consider.

1. Fast from anger and hatred. Give your family an extra dose of love each day.

2. Fast from judging others. Before making any judgments, recall how Jesus overlooks our faults.

3. Fast from discouragement. Hold on to Jesus' promise that He has a perfect plan for your life.

4. Fast from complaining. When you find yourself about to complain, close your eyes and recall some of the little moments of joy Jesus has given you.

5. Fast from resentment or bitterness! Work on forgiving those who may have hurt you..

6. Fast from spending too much money. Try to reduce your spending by ten percent and give those savings to the poor.

Wishing you all Peace, Love, and Happiness during Lent.


(Rainbow sighted on March 2nd, it lasted from Nicoll Highway right till the end of Marine Parade Road...! )



SMILE :) Jesus Loves You!